Caster.



No. 706,336', Patented Aug. 5, |902.

D. NICKEL.

CASTER.

(application led Nov. 28, 1901.)

(No Model.)

NITEE STATES PATENT OEEICE.

DAVID NICKEL, OF MORRIS, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO NICKEL MANUFACTUR- ING COMPANY, OF MORRIS, ILLINOIS.`

CASTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 706,336, dated August 5, 1902.

Application filed November 23, 1901. Serial No. 83,364. (No model-r To all whoml zit may concern: this blank by rolling the same into a shape Be it known that I, DAVID NICKEL, a citifor its wide end b to form a central sleeve B zen of the United States, residing at Morris,A for the reception and retention of the pintle in the county of Grundy and State of Illinois, or spindle of the caster and to have the body 55 5 have invented certain new and useful Imof the spring or spring-retainer in the shape proveniente in Casters, of which the followof a coil or convolute with aA web a extending is a specification. ying laterallyfrom the sleeve andaspiral body The objects of this invention are to conor wall a2, leaving the end b free to furnish struct asimple, reliable, and efficient retainer a contacting side or face to impinge against 6o 1o or retaining-spring for casters that will be inthe inner face of the wall of the socket when expensive to manufacture, strong and durathe retainer or retaining-spring is in place in ble in use, adapted to sockets of varying dithe socket and hold the caster as a Whole in ameters, and readily inserted into place or firm, secure, and positive engagement with removed therefrom and when inserted furthe socket F, which may be the foot of a tu- 65 I 5 nish practically a continuous side support for bular bedpostorotherappliance or device with the caster in its socket by which the caster which the caster is to be used. The sleeveB is will be held firmly and rigidly in place, and entered onto the pintle or spindle Oand is held to improve generally the construction and in place at the top against endwise movement operation of the caster as a whole; and the by upsetting or riveting down the end of the 7o 2c invention consists in the features of conpintle or 'spindle to form a head c, which struction and combination of parts hereinafabuts against the end of the sleeve, and after ter described and claimed. the retainer or retaining-spring has been at- In the drawings illustrating the invention, tached to the pintle or spindle the stops a Figure l is aside elevation showing the socket are bent inwardly and form stays to limit the 75 25 partly in section with the caster therein; Fig. inward or lateral thrust of the body of the 2, a side elevation of the caster with the reretainer or retaining-spring and to furnish a tainer or retaining-spring in section; Fig. 3, side support at the upper end,which in cona top or plan view of the retainer or retainjunction with 'the sleeve and the web furing-spring; Fig. 4, a side elevation of the renishes a guard against lateral swing of the 8o 3o tainer or retaining-springpartlybroken away; pintle or spindle, thereby insuring great Fig. 5, a view of the blank from which the firmness and rigidity at the upper end against preferred form of retainer or spring'is made; lateral displacement 'of the sleeve and the Fig. 6, a modified form of blank; Fig. 7, a pintle or spindle in use. The pint-le or spinplan view of a retainer or retaining-spring dle O fits within the sleeve, and its lower end 8 5 55 made from the blank of Fig. 6, and Fig. 8 a is entered into the top plate of the fork or cross-sectional view'of Fig. 7. fyoke D of the caster, in which fork or yoke The retainer or retaining-spring A of the is mounted the caster-Wheel E on an axle e, invention in the preferred form therefor is as usual, and, as shown, a washer d is located made from a blank A (shown in Fig. 5) of between the top plate and a collar or iiange d 9o 4o sheet-steel or other material of a spring or on the pintle or spindle, so as to give a strong elastic nature. This blank is cut to have on and free attachment of the fork or yoke to one edge two lips or tips a, which when the the pintle or spindle. -A circular plate or blank is rolled into shape form two stops or disk f I'its within the lower end ofthe re-` stays opposite each other. One end l) of the tainer or retaining-spring and within the re- 95 45 blank is left the full width, and the opposite cess b2 in the web a and has entered into its end b is cut away to be of a less width, and center hole the end b3 of the pintle or spindle the straight edge of the blank has therein a and serves to hold the lower end of the wall notch or recess b2, which when the blank is of the retainer or retaining-spring distended, rolled into its final shape forms a projecting performing, in effect, the same oflice as the Ico 5o tubular end or guide b3 for the sleeve. The stops or stays a, thereby insuring the mainretainer or retaining-spring A is made from tenance of the sleeve and the pintle or spintheir use.

outside of the retaining-spring and serves asv a base or support therefor, closing the opening and forming with the socket F a neat and firm support. The distending plate or disk and the exterior washer are, as shown, composed of two separate pieces; but it is obvious that they may be formed of a single piece without varying in any way the character of The spiral formation of the retaining-spring allows it to be screwed or turned into place in the socket and, furthermore, allows it to be compressed in diameter until the stops are brought in firm contact with the sleeve, at which point the limit of its compression is reached.

In Figs. 7 and 8 a modified form of retainer or retaining-spring is shown, made from the blank shown in Fig. 6. The blank A2 has one edge cut onfan incline from the inner terminus of its wide end to its narrow end, and this edge is to be turned at right angles to the body, forming an inwardly-projected taperedy edge a3, which performs the oflice of the two stops a, heretofore described, in furnishing a lateral support for the sleeve and the pintle or spindle. The blank of Fig. 6 is slottedat its smaller end to form a tongue b4, which can be turned or bent to furnish, after the retainer `or retaining-spring is formed, a contact to bear against the outer face of the wall a2 of the retainer or retaining-spring, as shown in Fig. 8, when in its socket F for holding the retainer or retaining-spring under pressure and tension within the socket. The slotted end of the blank and tongue b4, formed therewith, are shown in connection with the blank of Fig. 6; but it is'obvious that the vblank of Fig. 5 could be slotted and provided with a tongue b4 in the same manner and for the same purpose.

The eiciency of this invention lies in the fact that the spring may be entered into the socket by a twisting or screwing motion, which serves at the same time' to slightly colnpress its walls, thereby holding the same in ponent part of the retainer and gives the retainer a bearing for its full length, and the retainer also has a bearing forits full length and its entire diameter within its socket, rendering the jointure between the caster and its` socket strong and firm. The pintle or spindle is free to revolve and will be held in a. vertical position within the retainer by the stops at the top and bottom, which prevent side play in use.

What I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is l 1. A retaining-spring for casters, consisting of a tubular body formed from a plate of springy material to have one end of the plate overlap the outer wall of the body and freely contact therewith, a sleeve within the body, and a web between the wall and the sleeve,

lsubstantially as described.

2. A retaining-spring for casters made from a single plate of springy material, consisting of a tubular body formed to have one end of the plate overlap the outer wall of the body and freely contact therewith, a sleeve within the body, and a web between the wall and the sleeve, substantially as described.

3. A retaining-spring for casters made from a single plate of springy material spirally bent or coiled to form a sleeve and further bent or coiled in the same direction toform a wall or body, and a web between the sleeve and the wall or body with the outer end of the plate free to allow of compression, substantially as described.

4. Aretaining-sprin g for casters made from a single plate of springy material bent or coiled to form a sleeve and further bent or coiled to form a wall or body provided with a stop on its upper edge bent inward toward the sleeve, and a web between the sleeve and the wall or body with the outer end of the plate free to allow of compression, substantially as described.

5. Aretaining-springfor casters made from a single plate of springy material bent or IOO coiled to form a sleeve and further bent or coiled to form a wall or body, and a web between the sleeve and the wall or body provided in its lower edge with a recess the outer' l coiled to form a sleeve and further bent or coiled to form a wall or body provided with stops bent inward toward the sleeve, and a web between the sleeve and the wall or body provided in its edge with a recess the outer end of the plate being free to allow of compression, substantially as described.

7. The combination of a retaining-spring for casters made from a single plate of springy material bent or coiled to form a sleeve and further bent or coiled to form a wall or body, a web between the sleeve and the wall or body, provided in its edge with a recess the outer end of the plate being free to allow of compression, and a distending-washer encircling the sleeve and lying within the recess in the web, substantially as described.

8. In combination with a caster, of a retaining-spring therefor made from a single piece of springy material bent or coiled to form a sleeve and further bent or coiled to form a wall or body having its outer free edge curved or rounded at its upper corner, a web be- IIO IZO

4tween the sleeve and the wall or body provided in its edge with a recess, a distendingwasher encircling the sleeve and lying within the recess in the web, and a pintle carrying a roller and journaled within the sleeve, substantially as described.

9. In combination with a caster, of a retaining-spring therefor made from a single piece of springy materialbent or coiled to form a sleeve and further bent or coiled to form a wall or body, a web between the sleeve and the wall or body provided in its edge with a recess, a distending-washer encircling the sleeve and lying within the recess in the web, a pintle carrying a roller and journaled within the sleeve, and an exterior Washer encircling the pintle and lying outside of the retaining-spring, substantially as described. i

lO. An essentially oblong blank for the formation of a retaining-spring for casters with one end of greater width than the other having a recess in its lower edge and having, in its upper `edge near the wider end, a cut allowing a portion of its upper edge to be turned inwardly and furnish a stop or abut* ment when the blank is formed into a sleeve and spring, substantially as described.

11. A blank for the formation of a retaining spring for casters oblong in general outline having the upper edge of one of its ends curved or rounded and having a recess in its lower edge and having two ears on its upper edge adapted to be inwardly turned furnishing stops or abutments when the blank is formed into a sleeve and spring, substantially as describedi DAVID NICKEL. Witnesses: a

T. H. HALL, O. W. BOND, 

